Perinatal mental illness has a huge human as well as economic cost.
Recent research suggests more than 20% of women develop mental health problems during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth. Specialist community perinatal mental health services have developed rapidly over the past 6 years.
Perinatal Mental Health Services across Essex are highly stretched, providing care for 1,800 to 2,000 high risk mothers a year. Severe illnesses include postpartum psychosis, severe depression, and other chronic illnesses.
60% of Perinatal Mental Health Services caseloads are mothers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder. Other illnesses include depression and anxiety, and women with adjustment orders and distress. Assessments are offered which lead onto long-term or brief interventions stepping down to multi-agency pathways and linking up with other agencies.
Addressing these issues
Peer support initiatives have an important role to play in helping to address these issues. Informal support from a well trained and supervised peer supporter can enable parents, who may be wary or reluctant to seek help, to engage with professionals and access local services.
The complementary and informal role of peer support is now recognised as an important element of Perinatal Mental Health Services (PMHS).
In February 2021, the 7 Clinical Commissioning Groups across Essex, Southend, and Thurrock commissioned Parents 1st to form a stakeholder partnership to develop a strategy for a Pan Essex Perinatal Peer Support offer. We explored how peer support could sit alongside existing Perinatal Mental Health Services and what was needed to encourage all mums, dads and partners to get the support they need, when they needed it.
The aim is to improve perinatal mental health outcomes by supporting evidence-based, effective, and safe peer support to grow and develop across Essex.
Strengthening and growing Essex’s peer support offer will allow more families to benefit, through supporting parents' emotional wellbeing during pregnancy, birth and beyond.